[lavidaloca]

You enjoyed Guanabo in January? Thats the worst time of year for Guanabo! Go there in July.

There was a president or prime minister of a country visiting in Havana during the time you were there. Havana was pretty much cleaned up in the sense that there was next to no prostitution / hustling atleast in Vedado. (The president was staying in Hotel Nacional). I don't think that would've affected Varadero but it's possible.

[pbw]

Guanabo is for the more experienced traveller. It is a small, small town. Lots of prostitution, but the women are quite beautiful. No female tourists there. Thank goodness! It is growing a bit with new clubs and restaurants. Lots of police there --but I heard they don't bother the small number of tourists - unless of course stupidity is involved. It is a real party town. Can't wait to go there again. Need to save up some money. Varadero overall though is crap. I was relieved to get out of there. Unless you just want a nice beach and to relax only, then Varadero can be a good choice. Or go to Varadero --flight only -- and go to nearby Mantanza - rent a casa.

[Strelka]

Has anyone been to Varadero recently that can provide any updated insights?

[lavidaloca]

(02-09-2017 05:16 PM)Strelka Wrote:  

Has anyone been to Varadero recently that can provide any updated insights?

Cabaret Continental use to be the place to go.

In Varadero there are a lot of issues.

1) Hotels - You can't bring girls into your hotel who are staying in different hotels. (Potentially you could pay a supplement but it would be steep i.e. potentially $100+.)

2) The entertainment staff and attractive girls who work at Varadero hotels don't actually live in Varadero. For the most part they live in Matanzas.

3) Night life - Not a ton of Cubans are involved in the nightlife and those that are, are well off.

4) Cost - Everything in Varadero is a rip off for Cuba. From taxis, to restaurants, to night life.

5) Any Cuban girl you meet in Varadero you'd have to take to an illegal casa. These are not easily found unless the girl is in the know...i.e. shes a hooker as the registration policy is still in place in Varadero.


I think the best way to enjoy Varadero is have a hotel room and consider renting a casa particular as well. That way you have a place you can bring back tourist girls you meet at the various night spots.

[mpr]

(02-09-2017 11:09 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:  

(02-09-2017 05:16 PM)Strelka Wrote:  

Has anyone been to Varadero recently that can provide any updated insights?

Cabaret Continental use to be the place to go.

In Varadero there are a lot of issues.

1) Hotels - You can't bring girls into your hotel who are staying in different hotels. (Potentially you could pay a supplement but it would be steep i.e. potentially $100+.)

2) The entertainment staff and attractive girls who work at Varadero hotels don't actually live in Varadero. For the most part they live in Matanzas.

3) Night life - Not a ton of Cubans are involved in the nightlife and those that are, are well off.

4) Cost - Everything in Varadero is a rip off for Cuba. From taxis, to restaurants, to night life.

5) Any Cuban girl you meet in Varadero you'd have to take to an illegal casa. These are not easily found unless the girl is in the know...i.e. shes a hooker as the registration policy is still in place in Varadero.


I think the best way to enjoy Varadero is have a hotel room and consider renting a casa particular as well. That way you have a place you can bring back tourist girls you meet at the various night spots.

Thanks for the update LaVidaLoca! Your Cuba info is pure gold.

I've heard from other sources that Varadero is dead for hunting poon unless you want to target tourists as well. Would it be more economical to rent a casa particular in Varadero next to a nice all inclusive resort, and then pay the daily entry into an all inclusive resort? That way you can pay a flat $20 per day to eat, drink, and stay on the beach at the resort; then an additional $20-$30 for your accommodations at night? If you're at an all inclusive and the hotel staff gives you trouble about bringing other tourists back will they accept a small mordida to look the other way? What about "going for a walk on the beach" or "going skinny dipping in the ocean" and trying to fuck women on the sand or in the water? That was often my game plan in my younger days during spring break. Do you think the policia there bother you if they caught you doing that?

What town in Cuba would you recommend if I wanted to: eat good food, get drunk on a nice beach, and chase chica's for an economical price; as opposed to tourist rip off prices? My targets would be white and Indian Cuban women.

[lavidaloca]

It will likely be more than $20 per day to have full access to the resort. Around a year ago I was paying $40/ day at a 4* in Holguin for that.

Accommodations in Varadero for a casa particular your probably looking at $35 / night on a weekly stay.

You could potentially bring girls to the beach but you'd have to gain access without walking through a hotel. (Certainly doable...I just imagine that will be a lot more difficult to figure out and accomplish when it's dark out) You kind of have to be there and see Varadero's layout to understand why I say this. Getting a cab and having one wait could also prove costly as it's not like you can just dial a number to a cab dispatch company. What the police would do if they found you I can't comment. I've done it before in daylight in Guanabo in the ocean and a night time in Santa Lucia on the beach but at my age now I'd prefer not to be taking the same risks I took when I was in college.

Bribing security is a common tactic at Hotels in Havana and lower end Hotels throughout the island. (i.e. the 2* you see in Towns) Your odds of having this work in Varadero are rather on the low side if they are staying or you are staying at an All Inclusive. In a casa particular non Cuban girls could stay. In a real low end Hotel owner by the Cuban government pit isn't unusual for a $20 bribe to work historically. But in a 4* Hotel or AI nah. It will cost you way too much for it to be reasonable if at all possible. Think $100 or something outrageous and even then most will say no. There are too many people, cameras etc.

There's unfortunately no town that accomplishes what you are looking for.

Guanabo / Playas Del Este are probably the only two beaches where you would be able to find a no registration casa particular. The beaches aren't pretty, the surrounding homes / area aren't pretty either. Additionally its not a time of the year when Cuban people go to the beach. (July and August is when Cubans go to the beach typically) - If you go in July or August you'll see tons and tons of Cubans. It will be a lot of Cuban youth and families with lots of people who are relatively high income but uneducated.

The well to do Cubans / college students go on trips to Varadero in late June / July on package deals where a ton of concerts are held and its basically an all in less drinks at concert venue package. I've had a few girls who wanted me to take them on these in the past but time frame wise it has never worked out for me. Based on the pictures / video I've seen the crowd trends young.

Havana nightlife within the city is expensive for Cuba. Not crazy for a foreigner but it wouldn't be unusual to spend 100-200 CUC's on a night out if your getting a table at a good place. ($20 in taxi's, $10 in cover, $20 table, $40 bottle of reserva or $80+ Chivas 12, mixers (4 redbulls $16-$20) Guanabo outside of Havana is more reasonably priced but not what I'd consider cheap for Cuba. The last time I was there I think I got a bottle of Anejo Reerva for about 32 CUC's. I was watching a soon to be girlfriend dance though at Cabaret Guanimar. (I might be off on the name as it's been a while) I didn't see single girls in attendance that I thought were not looking to make money. A problem which plagues all of Cuban nightlife from low end to highest end.

In order to have success in Cuba you gotta spend a lot of time in order to build up a network / contacts in order to make everything work. Havana is the only place I know of where the registration policy isn't in effect. Havana is also the hardest place to get a non pro as the police are actually very active with stopping people and you actually have a sizeable Cuban population with some economic purchasing power. Its a bad one week vacation location if your planning to go once a year to chase non pros. You don't really get a ton of bang for your buck in Cuba until you get outside of Havana. The problem is then you get the registration policy which makes it much tougher to get girls back to your place. Some foreigners try to sneak girls in. Possible to pull off in some casas others no. This is also a quick way to get thrown out of your rental home. Other tourists have a separate place where they bring girls (usually these would be more seasoned vets albeit they are 99% of the time looking for p4p.) These are unlicensed casas they would've typically found by being brought their by p4p. These places aren't legal for a tourist to use and are generally speaking in pretty bad shape. (Some are admittedly nice but the majority would accurately be described as "shit holes") Some are essentially by the hour places that Cubans use. I once drank at one of these as the daughter of the owner of the one worked with my girlfriend. I couldn't believe the amount of group sex that was going on. I saw something like 6 Cuban youths with 6 Cuban hookers share a tiny little 1 bedroom. Another one where 2 guys went with 1 grotesque looking woman etc.

Personally I wouldn't want to spend a week alone in Guanabo. I'd get bored off my rockers. The Tropicoco is out in the beachs outside of Havana but the problem you'll run into is very low quality girls are going to be around these establishments. It's a cheap and shitty hotel.

You will have a good time in Varadero its just not gonna be a easy place to rack up a bunch of lays but neither is the rest of Cuba due to the police presence, registration policy amongst a host of other issues. If you want to drink a lot, party and potentially get a notch or two Varadero will suffice. (It will certainly be better than places like Guardalavaca where often I found the nightlife at resorts to be nonexistent.)

Long term if I was after a place on the Ocean that met all your criteria I'd make Cienfuegos work but that wouldn't be a quick or easy endeavor and the police presence is the worst there of all of Cuba in my experience. (In the night club they bothered me and my girlfriend. Rather ridiculous considering my girlfriend had never been to Cienfuegos so it's not like they had seen her with tourists before as she lived on the other side of the island. Also ridiculous cause there's only a 3 year age gap and I speak better spanish than the special police that spoke with me.) Its the town that has absolutely everything go for it that some how manages to suck for tourists. Beautiful views, beautiful casas, many restaurants, active nightlife etc. But the police are vigilant here. My understanding is Cienfuegos before my time going there was sort of the wild west of Cuba with tons and tons of prostitution. A new Chief stepped in and cleaned it up. When you walk the streets they are clean without litter in Cienfuegos. I'm hopeful by the time I walk away from business in about 5 years Cienfuegos will not be such a pain in the ass cause it seemed to me to be the most liveable city in Cuba in my couple short visits there. Havana is also livable but very expensive. In order to have a good lifestyle in Havana you really are gonna be spending Western type money. You also will be stopped with girls you are walking with or in a car with as a rather regular occurance regardless of age difference. I'd say for every month in Havana I spent I was stopped atleast once or twice. At the time I was living there I was a grad student in my early to mid 20s. This would intimidate the average tourist enough that they probably wouldn't go back in my opinion. My spanish and knowledge of Cuba is good enough though I can clear it up really quick.

For those who are curious about American tourism in Cuba. I haven't seen any effect whatsoever in the orient. I have heard there's a lot in Havana but they are all travelling along cookie cutter locations that wouldn't interest 99% of members here. Probably would be noticeable in Trinidad too but that's about the last place in Cuba that interests me. To be honest more Americans will benefit members here because over time if tourism doubles there will be more money in the hands of the public and more non hookers will start to be able to go out to night clubs on a more frequent basis. Unfortunately right now night clubs are very hooker or quazi hooker dominated.

[Ceasar]

The issue with bringing even other tourist girls back to your room sounds like a killer. I was planning on going there with my bisexual colombian girl to hunt for Russians. May do it anyway, and then hunt for a casa particular there.

Question: Has anyone actually gotten laid in Varadero? And, how many Russian girls are there? Aeroflot has direct flights to Varadero from Moscow almost daily, and so there must be a good number of Russians there.